Footing

He is on good footing with the world. He stands well with the
world. This is a French phrase, Être sur un grand pied dans le
monde. “Grand pied” means “large foot,” and the allusion is to the
time of Henry
VIII., when the rank of a man was designated by the size of his shoe
—the higher the rank the larger the shoe. The proverb would be more
correctly rendered, “He has a large foot in society.”

To pay your footing.

To give money for drink when you first enter on a trade. Entry
money for being allowed to put your foot in the premises occupied by
fellow-craftsmen. This word is called foot-ale by ancient
writers. (See Garnish.)